site.btaMedia Review: October 12

POLITICS

Bulgaria is satisfied with the downscaled proposal for the EU's multiannual budget in 2028-2034 insofar as it means a smaller national contribution, Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova said, replying to a question from ClubZ.bg. Petrova, who took part in a Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, told the website: "It is, however, important how priorities of key importance to Bulgaria are handled. Concerning cohesion policy and agricultural policy, there are no major issues about the new proposal, so from this point of view, it is positive for us. But there are still details which are being clarified in the other sectors, and this will be discussed during the European Council this week."

* * *

After the secret police files committee is transferred to the Archives State Agency (ASA), if anyone at all is identified as a former collaborator of the communist-era political police, they can easily win a lawsuit against the state, Access to Information Programme Director Alexander Kashamov tells SegaBG.com. Kashamov believes that the closure of the police files committee is an "absolutely wrong initiative" of the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party, which has failed to assess its likely impact. A bill on the transfer of the committee to the ASA was announced last week. Kashamov notes that the ASA is not an independent body but a part of the executive branch of power.

UKRAINE

The possibility that the man who talked with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev in Sofia on October 8 is US President Donald Trump's favourite for president of Ukraine is discussed in an analysis on 24chasa.bg. The website says that three intelligence services arranged the stealthy Sofia visit of 40-year-old Kyrylo Budanov, the Chief of Staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is expected to work out a peace deal with Russia. The analysis quotes President Trump as saying on October 10 that the US is waiting for a successor to Zelenskyy. The website adds that one of those who are most often tipped to replace the current Ukrainian leader is Budanov. It says that Kyiv counts on Budanov to persuade the Americans that what needs to be done is negotiate a just peace, rather than fulfilling Russia's demands. His visit to the Bulgarian capital was a stop on his way to the US.

Budanov was appointed Chief of Staff to the Ukrainian President on January 2, 2026. The choice was not a coincidence, the analysis says. By appointing the general, Zelenskyy has tried to restore public confidence in the presidency and to increase the weight of security and defence in making political decisions, the website says.

* * *

"Generic calls for peace only benefit the aggressor, which is Russia," former Bulgarian defence minister and diplomat Boyko Noev told Bulgarian National Radio on Sunday. He noted that some Bulgarian politicians, including high-ranking figures, have taken this stand. Noev expects the Ukrainians to continue to fight for their right to be an independent nation. "The diesel deal with Russia is nothing but an attempt by Trump to save somehow the Congress elections in November, as his future depends on them," Noev said. He added that the rush is not only for Trump but also for Putin, because a radical shift in US policy will begin three weeks from now, after the elections in the US.

ECONOMY

A decrease in Romanian tourists spending their summer holidays in Bulgaria is reported on Dnevnik.bg. For years, Romanian and German holiday-makers have been the largest groups of foreigners visiting Bulgaria during the summer, says the author, Tatyana Dimitrova. Romanian tourists usually visit the northern stretch of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Traditionally, they choose Bulgaria for their summer holidays because Romania has few well-developed resorts, and prices there are high. This past season, however, Romanian journalists reported visitor dissatisfaction with the quality of service offered in Bulgaria coupled with high prices.

The negative trend has been observed for three or four years now, Yovka Ivanova of the Club Magellan travel agency tells the website. She puts the annual decline in Romanian holiday-makers at 7% to 10%. The ebb was particularly visible during the past season. Ivanova and hotel owner Ventislav Tanchev say it all began when the economic situation in Romania worsened: wages were frozen, taxes went up, holiday vouchers were scrapped and inflation soared. This caused people's travel budgets to shrink and holiday trips to become less frequent.

The Bulgarian tourism industry also complains of a deliberate hate-motivated attack at the start of what would be a generally very weak season. Adrian Voican, Vice President of the Bucharest-based ANAT travel agency and President of BIBI Group4Travel, allegedly wrote on his Facebook profile: "Shocking prices in Bulgaria! Prices in [the resort of] Balchik are the same as in Greece or Italy."

* * *

Municipalities insist that the funding they will receive from the state budget in 2027 should be increased by EUR 650 million, or 13.2%, Bulgarian National Television said. During the public broadcaster's morning talk show on Monday, Silvia Georgieva, Executive Director of the National Association of Municipalities, said the increase is necessary mainly because inflation has pushed expenditures up, the minimum wage is planned to rise, and fuel and food costs are going up. She noted that wage expenditures are no more than 5% of an overall municipal budget.

EDUCATION

Higher education basically guarantees employment, but the jobless rate associated with some courses of study is double the average level nationwide, SegaBG.com says. Higher-education-to-career applicability in Bulgaria is highest (over 90%) among people who have graduated in military science, medicine, dentistry, education theory and management, and pharmacy, and lowest (25%) in tourism. Even if you have a university degree, you may end up working in a field which does not require higher education, the website notes. Available data show that 4.22% of those who have studied administration and management work as shop assistants or shop managers. Unemployment can even affect doctoral degree holders, with the highest levels observed among Doctors of Philosophy (4.61%), Doctors of Arts (4.53%) and Doctors of Religion and Theology (3.17%).